Minutes - Public Works Committee - 09/17/2019

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machines, and irrigation sprinklers and controllers. Municipalities may use grant funds to fund rebates to residents who replace inefficient water-using devices with approved devices that use substantially less water, or for irrigation system audits. The Metropolitan Council administered a water efficiency grant program during the 2015-2017 biennium using $500,000 from the Clean Water Fund, which yielded an estimated total savings of 52,000,000 gallons of water per year. City Engineer Westby stated that this grant program requires that products be labeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, or in the case of washing machines, by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star program. Grant funds can only be used for appliance replacement, not for first time purchases for new developments. Municipalities are responsible for developing and operating their own rebate programs. The grant funds will cover 75 percent of program costs, with a require 25 percent local match of which residents must pay a portion of the cost for any device or water use audit they purchase. Grant applications will be accepted through September 30, 2019. City Engineer Westby stated that the grant funding opportunity seems to be a perfect for the City of Ramsey for several reasons:  The Environmental Policy Board’s 2017-2019 Work Plan includes a tactic to extend the longevity of drinking water supply by reducing demand on groundwater and specifies as a key outcome, the development of incentives and/or programs to promote water conservation. If successful in obtaining the grant funds, the funds could be used to purchase smart controllers and/or soil moisture sensors that could be available for existing water customers that have older, in-ground irrigation systems without these technologies. th The EPB discussed this grant program on August 19 and supported an application.  This grant could help the City to significantly reduce peak demand on the municipal water supply system during summer months, which would allow the City to run fewer wells in the summer, thereby reducing manganese concentrations. This could also allow the City to delay or even omit the installation of new water supply wells in the future.  The City partnered with the Metropolitan Council on its 2018 Water Efficiency Potential project. This partnership essentially focused on how Ramsey could maximize economic benefits from various residential-based water conservation efforts. Having just recently completed that project should help Ramsey score well on an application for the Water Efficiency Grant Program.  City staff attended an informational workshop on this grant program at the end of August. If the Committee supports applying for this grant, staff would use what was learned at the workshop to develop the framework for an incentive and/or rebate program, which could then be presented to the City Council for authorization to submit the grant application and th supporting information by September 30. City Engineer Westby noted that the required local match of 25 percent would come from the City’s water enterprise fund, with a portion being reimbursed by payments from residents for any device or water use audit they purchase. Chairperson Kuzma stated that anything the City can do to encourage saving water is a good thing. Public Works Committee / September 17, 2019 Page 10 of 13